8 miles, 59 degrees

This morning my dog woke me up at 4:30 am because she had to go out and do some business. What to do, when the alarm is set for 5 am? Well, I went back to bed. The alarm went off and I hit snooze. I figured since one dog was already pottied, I could steal another couple of minutes in bed. That was about all I got, as I roused myself before the alarm went off a second time.

I was saddled up and riding out by 5:50 am. It really had the makings of a glorious day. There was more wind then I like, and the American Flag that had been posted to the house for the holiday yesterday was flapping about,  but Sinwaan paid it no mind. He was really quite mellow for the conditions this morning.

We stopped for a bit when I saw a walker coming towards us and two dogs out in the wheat field. The dogs were hysterical to me, because you could not really see them until they pounced, bounding straight up in to the air and then disappearing again. I could imagine how this could be unsettling to my horse, however, so we  just stood still and took it all in for a couple of minutes as they approached. I went to the other side of the road as they got closer, and then saw a rabbit scramble across in front of us. Saved! The dogs had missed it. The woman told me her dogs would not bother my horse, and she whistled for them. They went running after her and there was no trouble so on we went.

Overall, we made good time coming down our first 2 mile stretch and because at that time I was undecided as to if I really wanted to do the entire 8 mi 'lollipop', we turned left onto the intersecting road today, instead of making the usual right. We went down Mission, and things were well. I watched the sun rise in front of me.

It was a beautiful morning and it felt great to be out on horseback to welcome in the day. I let Sinwaan stop every so often to grab snatches of grass, or alfalfa, since these rides take him out before breakfast.

When we got near the end of Mission, Sinwaan picked up the pace. We turned onto Froghollow and went over the bridge at a trot. We uncovered a head wind and it was blowing his mane all about. He looked at things along the way but kept up his nice forward pace the whole stretch of road. He knew he was headed for home.

We alternated walking with trotting on Last Chance, and  I let him set the pace as long as it wasn't too brisk. At the intersection towards home we met up with the school bus that I have now seen 3 times on my morning rides. I waved it on and then we turned and headed up the home road.

Sinwaan wanted to go go go, which 6 miles in is a good thing for him! It means his fitness level is building and it can't happen too soon. We trotted along, stopped for an alfalfa bite, and trotted some more. There is a construction crew laying the floor in a pole building and as we passed the cement trucks there was a "bang!" and Sinwaan had a bit of a jump forward but it was no trouble and he quickly regained his confidence. We had a short canter in the last mile of road and although he tired out, we did keep trotting until we got to the driveway.  We got back close to 7:20. 90 minutes for 8 miles is not great time, but it is something.

I am pleased with his progress, and my own. Another ride closer.

Electrolyte Cookies

Electrolyte Cookies

2 cups oats (I use crimped oats or barley/mix)
3/4 cup grain (I use either LMF or barley)
3 cups bran
1 cup molasses
1 cup water (may vary depending upon altitude)

12-24 1-oz. scoops of powdered electrolytes (depends how strong you want
them) Mix all the ingredients together. You should have a consistency a little
thinner than play-doh. If it isn`t wet or sticky enough, add a little
more water or molasses. Place large spoonfuls on a (greased) cookie sheet.
Bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes. These have a tendancy to burn so keep an eye
on them.

Merri Melde shared these on her post today and I wanted to make a note of the recipe for the future.

Back in the saddle

I have been recovering from the flu, and we've had a lot of rain storms. This morning I felt strong enough to go to the barn before work and fit in a short ride. No rain, but there was a bit of wind. Sinwaan was a bit of a handful and drained my reserves so we only put in 5 miles. But I was happy about getting that much done due to the circumstances. We are planning a longer ride for Saturday to make up the rest of the miles (goal) for the week.

Goal: Met

Today the whole family went to the barn. I, to ride, and Matt and the kids to do pooper-scooper duties.

I started out on my 8 mile loop, and about 4 miles in Sinwaan spooked at some brush that was a lighter color then the rest and lost my seat and went over his shoulder and landed on the road edge. The main pain that I felt was in my hand. I had not let go of the reins, and was not riding with gloves. As I was falling off I could feel the burn as the nylon zipped through my grip. I walked Sinwaan up to a low spot and remounted, and my hand hurt so bad. Within another mile or two we came across a tractor plowing the field and dust was billowing out everywhere. Nearly at the same time a hay wagon truck was coming at us in the road, so I had plenty to distract me from the pain in my hand. We got to a driveway and pulled over so Sinwaan could survey everything that was happening and he handled it well.

Thinking back, I believe this is the first time I have ever come off of him.

He tired out around mile 7 which I think is an improvement considering he already put in 8 miles a couple days ago. Progress is exciting!  Our tally for the week is 16 miles!

Conditioning up

I admit, I have been feeling like I will never get Sinwaan conditioned up to where he needs to be by July.

Our one ride of the year is planned out for the Camas Creek Canter in Montana. I would love for him to be able to handle both days of riding...but in our recent rides with Heather I have been left wanting, and feeling discouraged.

I wanted to ride on Mother's Day but after working most of the morning in the garden planting seeds, I was so worn out the last thing I wanted to do was battle it out with Sinwaan on a solo ride.

Monday I had good intentions of riding after work, but I was still in pain. Tuesday it was soooo hot. 92 to be exact. That is wretched for mid-May!

So I had a talk with my husband and we had this moment of "well it would be cooler to ride before work" and "that works better for me anyway," that was just fantastic. It was like a revelation and I realized this is my usual summer program! How could I have forgotten?

Wednesday morning I set the alarm for 5 am, got up, and went to the barn. I was tacked up and riding out by 6 am. Sinwaan gave me some tests on the first 2 miles in the usual places, but I had a crop today and with a couple of well-timed pops he got the memo and made it to the end of the road (2 mi) in 15 minutes (last time it took us 40).

Feeling empowered by our new agreement of moving forward we got to the 2.5 mi mark and instead of turning around, like last time, I decided to just go for it and do the whole loop that we used to ride last year. (We have two main options from the house. The shorter distance, a block of about 6+ miles has a fair amount of hill work, and the longer distance, 8 miles even, is flat.)

We did the 8 miles in a reasonable time, about an hour and 15 min. We need to shave it down but I gave him ample time to walk to warm up, cool down, and have a breather when crossing the bridges.  And let's face it, he's still fat. Although I was so happy to see he is making progress. Last time I rode with Heather the 6 miles was hard on him and he was really lagging towards the end. Wednesday's 8 miles was an improvment. And if we can keep this up with twice a week I am sure he will be much happier about taking a trip to Montana for a mountain ride.

:) The future is bright!